When to consider a special purpose liquidator
Occasionally we are approach by accountants and advisors in our network to discuss the conduct of other liquidators who are winding up companies that owe money to their clients. Amendments to the Corporations Act in 2017 give creditors a far higher degree of influence in relation to external administrations, including the right to remove a […]
Schemes of Arrangement Consultation – Improving Schemes of Arrangement to Better Support Businesses
Schemes of Arrangement are a seldom used external administration option to restructure a company. The process was largely replaced by the Voluntary Administration process that commenced in 1993; however still has its place when the right circumstances arise. On 2 August 2021, Treasury opened consultation on improving schemes of arrangement to better support business. […]
ATO might start disclosing debts to credit reporting agencies – An overreach given the circumstances?
Back in 2019, the ATO was granted the rights to disclose tax debts that were in excess of $100,000 and 90 days overdue to credit reporting agencies. This power was granted in an effort to put pressure on those entities out there who were behind on their tax obligations to a material degree, but as […]
The year that has been and what is to come
The 2021 Financial Year (FY21) has now come and gone and I think most of us can say, good riddance… It was a particularly quiet FY21 in the corporate insolvency space, with only 4,235 corporate insolvency appointments being recorded in the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. The 4,235 appointments represented a 42.47% […]
Can I save my company?
Often we meet directors at a stage when it is just too late to save their business, which is as big a frustration for the directors as it is ourselves. This frustration stems from the fact that more often than not, the business in question could have been saved, at least in one form or […]
Western Australia’s DPN for payroll tax – The unknown DPN
Whilst the Australian Taxation Office may not have issued a Director Penalty Notice (“DPN”) since the beginning of the pandemic (or done any other kind of meaningful recovery work for that matter…), I thought it might be worthwhile bringing to your attention a similar, albeit rarely used, director penalty liability that can arise in respect […]
Mental Health First Aid – Supporting SME advisors towards better mental health
When we meet with individuals and directors of companies in financial distress, it is often towards the end of a challenging journey in which uncertainty, stress and anxiety have played significant roles. It follows that the individuals we meet are tired, strained to their breaking-point and likely to be struggling with the weight of addressing […]
Creditor’s Statutory Demands – Recent Amendment to Minimum Threshold
You may recall that last year, there was a temporary adjustment to the minimum debt threshold from which a creditor could issue a Creditor’s Statutory Demand (“CSD”) against a company. Last year the threshold was lifted from $2,000 to $20,000 in order to provide some breathing space for creditors during the heights of the COVID-19 […]
Pindan collapse likely to leave subcontractors out of pocket – Security of payments bill back in the spotlight
The collapse of the Pindan Group, one of WA’s largest construction and property development groups will most likely leave hundreds of subcontractors’ owed significant amounts of money. The failure of Pindan is the first of its kind in terms of scale in WA for some time, with the various economic stimulus and protective measures put […]
The PPSR – Reforms on the horizon
The Personal Properties Securities Act 2009 (the Act), in conjunction with the Personal Property Security Register (PPSR), were implemented over a decade ago with the stated aim of providing ‘consistency and certainty for parties in relation to security interests in goods and assets’. A question that has continually been asked since the inception of both […]